TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum said on Thursday he plans to compete full force in Florida’s primary Tuesday, but may soon turn his attention to less expensive primary states.
“We have committed pretty much every campaign day, with the exception of one to get my tax returns, to the state of Florida,” Santorum said following a Tallahassee town hall Thursday morning. “Look, we’re going to run every race. We are going to run in every state that we possibly can and get out there and we’ve got a strong message.”
A campaign schedule out Thursday shows Santorum with events in Miami, Sarasota, Punta Gorda, and Boca Raton through Monday morning. Prior to that, the former senator will make a trip home to Pennsylvania this weekend, which he has said will include fundraising, “hugging the kids,” and organizing his tax returns for release.
Now, Santorum says, the question is “Monday from that point on—what we are going to do and whether we are going to stay here Election Day, which you can’t really campaign, and maybe go to another state and start campaigning other places.”
Campaign spokesman Hogan Gidley said while the campaign will maintain a presence in Florida early next week, it’s not inconceivable that Santorum may move into other upcoming primary states like Nevada, Colorado, or Minnesota.
Recent polling shows Santorum holding a slim third-place lead in Florida over Rep. Ron Paul. But the key reason Santorum may move on, he indicated to reporters Wednesday, is the cost of running in such a large state.
“You’ve got a big state like Florida which is very expensive,” he said. “But there are other states where a more surgical approach is gonna be successful, and there are 50 states and there are all different ways to get the delegates you need to be able to win the convention, and we’re working on a strategy to get us there.”
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